MINNEAPOLIS - The Falcons' stunning turnaround season will roll on into the playoffs, thanks to Matt Ryan's unflappable poise, Justin Blalock's hustle and the generosity of the Vikings.

Ryan threw for a touchdown and made no big mistakes, Blalock recovered a fumble in the end zone for another score and the Vikings committed four turnovers as Atlanta clinched a postseason berth.

Michael Turner rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown for the Falcons (10-5), who were 4-12 a year ago and ended the season without a head coach or a franchise quarterback.

With Mike Smith calling the shots and Ryan's steady hand, the Falcons have that and so much more now.

Tarvaris Jackson played very well in his second straight start for the Vikings (9-6), who could have clinched their first division title since 2000. Jackson threw for 233 yards and two scores and rushed for 76 yards, but also had a fumble at the Atlanta 16.

Bills 30, Broncos 23

DENVER (AP) - Now it all comes down to a trip to San Diego for the right to represent the woeful AFC West in the playoffs.

The Broncos blew an early 13-0 lead in the second-coldest game in Denver's history, setting up an all-or-nothing matchup against the Chargers next week for the division title.

The Broncos (8-7) led the Chargers (7-8) by three games with three to go, but now face the possibility of having led the West by themselves from opening weekend through Christmas with nothing to show for it.

The Chargers' win at Tampa Bay earlier in the day was blacked out at Invesco Field by Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, who didn't want his team's emotional edge affected by San Diego's fortunes.

Chargers 41, Buccaneers 24

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Philip Rivers, the NFL's highest-rated passer, threw for 287 yards and four touchdowns, helping the Chargers keep their playoff hopes alive and deal a crushing blow to the Buccaneers' chances.

After their third straight win in what amounted to elimination games for a team that began the season with expectations of reaching the Super Bowl, San Diego (7-8) got the help it needed when Buffalo beat Denver.

Tampa Bay (9-6), which lost its first home game and has dropped three straight, could have clinched at least an NFC wild-card spot with a win and some outside help. Instead, the Bucs' day ended with quarterback Jeff Garcia's nose bloodied and hoping three other contenders - Atlanta, Philadelphia and Dallas - falter the rest of the way.

Dolphins 38, Chiefs 31

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - In the coldest game they ever played, the Dolphins stayed hot.

Chad Pennington threw three touchdown passes, continuing one of the most remarkable comeback seasons in NFL history in temperatures that plunged into single digits. With their fourth victory in a row and eighth in nine games, the Dolphins (10-5) can clinch the AFC East next week just one year after finishing a league-worst 1-15. All they'll have to do is beat the Jets in the Meadowlands.

The temperature at kickoff was 10, with a wind chill of minus-12. Previously, the coldest game the Dolphins ever played was 14 degrees at Foxboro, Mass., on Dec. 11, 1977.

Patriots 47, Cardinals 7

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - New England is peaking in time for the postseason, crushing Arizona with a blizzard of points on a snow-covered field. It won't keep the Cardinals out of the playoffs. And it might not be enough to get the Patriots in.

Showing vast superiority to the struggling champions of the weak NFC West, the Patriots pressured Kurt Warner into one of his worst games in 11 pro seasons as he threw for just 30 yards.

The Cardinals' defense was as miserable as the weather, allowing the Patriots to score on nine of their 10 possessions before Matt Cassel got the rest of the game off.

New England (10-5) held a huge margin of 514 to 186 yards. Cassel completed 20 of 36 passes for 345 yards and three touchdowns a week after throwing for four touchdowns in a 49-26 win at Oakland.

Seahawks 13, Jets 3

SEATTLE (AP) - If this is Brett Favre's kind of weather, then the magic is gone for the veteran quarterback. And so likely are the Jets' playoff chances.

Seattle's Maurice Morris sliced through the snow like a sled for a season-high 116 yards and John Carlson scored the only touchdown on a short pass from backup Seneca Wallace as the lowly Seahawks ended New York's stay atop the AFC East.

Mike Holmgren, Favre's confidant and former coach in Green Bay, went out a winner in his final home game as the leader in Seattle - largely because Favre came up short when the Jets (9-6) needed him most.

New York must now beat AFC East co-leading Miami at home next week, and pray.

Either New England or Baltimore, also 10-5, must lose for the Jets to get in the playoffs. The Patriots are at Buffalo next week and the Ravens, aiming for the conference's last wild-card spot, host Jacksonville (5-10).

Redskins 10, Eagles 3

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) - Jim Zorn sure didn't look like the worst coach in America. Instead, he's the coach who got his Redskins turned around a week too late - with a stop at the 1-yard line on the game's final play.

As Reggie Brown caught the ball near the goal line, cornerback Fred Smoot lifted him into the air, and safety LaRon Landry supplied the shove that kept the Eagles receiver out of the end zone. With no timeouts remaining, Philadelphia couldn't stop the clock as the last seconds ticked away.

Washington stymied an Eagles team that was averaging close to 33 points during a three-game winning streak, and Clinton Portis scored his first touchdown in eight weeks in a win that offered the Redskins a consolation prize on the day they were mathematically eliminated from the postseason.

49ers 17, Rams 16

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Isaac Bruce reached a pair of milestones in a late-game flurry in his old stadium. Both helped the San Francisco 49ers in an improbable comeback win.

Bruce became the fifth player to reach 1,000 catches on a 3-yard touchdown grab with 4:12 to go and passed Tim Brown for second on the career yards receiving list on the 49ers' go-ahead drive.

The Rams (2-13) squandered a 10-point lead for the second straight week, failing to capitalize on four turnovers and four sacks while losing their ninth in a row.

Bengals 14, Browns 0

CLEVELAND (AP) - As bad as they've been, the Bengals can brag they're Ohio's best NFL team. And that ain't saying much.

Cedric Benson rushed for a career-high 171 yards and Leon Hall returned one of his three interceptions 50 yards for a touchdown to help the Bengals get their first road win this season, over the hapless Browns on a bone-chilling day.

Raiders 27, Texans 17

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - In a season with very little to celebrate, Johnnie Lee Higgins gave Raiders fans plenty to cheer about in the home finale. Higgins caught a 29-yard touchdown pass and then returned a punt 80 yards for another score in the third quarter.

It's the first time since the 2002 Super Bowl season the Raiders won their final home game. The rest of the year has been much of the same losing for Oakland (4-11), which became the first team in NFL history to drop at least 11 games for six straight seasons.

The Texans (7-8) had won four straight for the first time in team history and were hoping for their first winning season. But Houston could generate little against the lowly Raiders.

Giants 34, Panthers 28 OT

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- The NFC road to the Super Bowl will run through the Meadowlands because the New York Giants did what you have to do in bad weather -- run the ball.

Derrick Ward ran for career-best 215 yards and set up Brandon Jacobs' winning 2-yard touchdown run with 9:57 left in overtime and the Super Bowl champion Giants clinched the NFC's top seed for the postseason with a 34-28 comeback victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday night.

The final score warmed the hearts of the fans, who brazed blustery wind and snow packed under their seats to see New York pull off the dramatic win. They tossed snowballs on to the field earlier and threw it like confetti when Jacobs won the game.

New York (12-3) forced the overtime when Jacobs plowed into the end zone from a yard out, and Eli Manning hit Domenik Hixon on a slant pattern for the tying 2-point conversion with 3:21 to play.